By Staff Writer
The delay in setting a date for by-elections has frustrated the opposition Human Rights Protection Party to the point it suspects a deliberate Government Party strategy at play.
All the 7 Electoral Constituencies forced by election petition court rulings to return to the polls are HRPP seats that it must win back to set off a series of seat majority arrangements that could lead to a new Parliament.
“It’s well overdue, we’ve already passed new amendments to the Electoral Act in Parliament and we thought it would expedite the by-elections but up to now there is absolute silence,” opposition leader Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi complained.
Attempts are being made to find out from the Speaker Papali’i Taeau Masepa’u the official cause of the delay but it appeared to the opposition complaints that the Government is being consulted.
Tuilaepa suspects the reasoning is merely a political strategy by Government to delay as long as possible the by-elections to give them time to distribute $200,000 tala for each electoral constituency approved in the current budget.
He believes Government wants to make a winning impact on the by-elections with the money they will be spending from the budget.
“There is no other reason to explain this delay.”
Tuilaepa has warned that the HRPP is willing to go to court to get the Speaker of Parliament to set a date for the pending 7 by-elections.
Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa told media last week that the Speaker will inform the Electoral Commissioner when the elections will be held.
Tuilaepa is not wearing that, saying it is delaying tactics by Government so they can continue to deny the voters of the seven constituencies a voice in Parliament.
He said there is a sinister reason behind the delay in calling the by-elections.
“There are devious schemes at play here and it is disconcerting,” said the Opposition Leader.
He said the courts have decided and have advised the Speaker of the outcomes for the election petitions.
“All the Speaker has to do is set a date so the Office of the Electoral Commission can set everything in motion to run the by-elections.”
He said he hopes the Fiame government doesn’t make more illegal and conflicting decisions like the scrapping of the daylight savings initiative.
“For a government that has consistently preached the importance of the rule of law, FAST is playing cat and mouse with people’s rights with their delaying tactics”.
Tuilaepa went over the opposition party’s suspicions at the holdup in naming a date for polling, in this exclusive video interview with Newsline Samoa